Method of and apparatus for directional recording



Apfll15,1930; O.R.MARSH L75Q520 METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR DIRECTIONAL RECORDING Filed Feb. 27, 1929 /Z 7VEZ72 1131' I tion of talking moving pictures. i

Patented Apr. 15, 1930 ORLANDO R. MABSEL OF WILMETTE, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO MARSH LABORATORIES, INC., OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A. CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS mn'rnon or am) ArrARA'rUs non DIRECTIONAL Encormmo Application filed February 27, 1929. Serial No. 343,168.

The present invention relates to a method of and apparatus for directional recording of sound and more particularly to the recording of sound in connection with the produc- It has frequently been observed that in the reproduction of an actors speech or voice for talking movies and the like, the actors voice may be of correct volumeand of natural quality for a given setting-or position,,but in another setting or position wherein the actorhas moved to another position or might have slightly turned his head, there will be a decided change in the quality and volume of his reproduced voice and, as a result, the illusion of the actor actually being present and talking to the movie audience is lost.

Moreover, in the reproduction of a source of music, such for example as that of a band or orchestra, I find that the conventional sound reproducing system is unsatisfactory in that it fails to uniformly reproduce all of the musical constituents of such source and thus causes the resultant musical reproduction to sound uneven, unnatural and distorted. Then, too, when one of the musical constituents is rendering a solo, I find that the conventional system of reproduction fails to give proper emphasis to it and hence the 0 reproduction does not give the solo as it would sound to an audience actually present before such band or orchestra.

At present, it is the practice in the production of talking moving pictures to selectively use a plurality of microphones concealed at strategic points about the setting but out of view of the camera. These microphones, for example, may be arranged so that one is in a telephone stand on a desk, another is in a drapery, and still others are suspended about the actor's out of the line of vision of the camera. These microphones are connected through separate circuits to a central panel where each may be separately controlled by an operator.

The operator is usually located in an acoustically treated room arranged so as to afford him a clear view of the stage or setting. This room is equipped with an amplio fier and monitor for the operator to listen to the sound being picked up by the concealed microphones while viewing the actions on the stage. It is the function of this operator to follow the action on the stage and to so manipulate the controls on the control panel as to give the proper volume to the incoming sound. Obviously, this requires great skill and judgment on the part of the operator as achange in position of the actor or a change in tone due to him moving to and from the nearest microphone might easily cause the amplified sound to be too loud or to fade away.

The object of this invention is to provide a method of and apparatus for picking up or collecting sounds for reproduction in a Way that will cause them to sound more natural and even in the resultant reproduction than is possible by the above described method and apparatus.

In viewing a stage production of a theater, it is .well known that the most desirable seats are the center ones, both for seeing and hearing the production on the stage. Now it might reasonably be inferred from the above fact that if sounds emanating from the stage could be collected at a point where they are best heard by an auditor, the reproduction of same would closely simulate the original production. Moreover, an auditor in a theater does not necessarily sit rigid in order to listen to the play but turns his head and follows the motion of the actors thereby directing his attention and hearing to the points of most interest.

In the light of the above facts, I propose to provide a system of sound recording which will give proper emphasis to the dominating In accordance with my present invention, I propoes to use one or more sound collecting devices or microphones mounted so that they may be universally and selectively moved in any direction. The microphone is provided sounds being collected for reproduction.

with a universal mounting whereby it may be sible for an operator to follow any action on the stage at a considerable distance from the stage and pick up the desired sounds so that they predominate over other sounds which are a necessary accompaniment but which would, if otherwise reproduced, interfere with and prevent a natural reproduction of the play or other act.

I found that by the use of several microphones covering a large setting but arranged to have a relatively low sensitivity to the product-ion in conjunction with a microphone embodying the features of my invention, it is possible to obtain any degree of balance bc-' tween the sound being recorded necessar to record the action in a natural manner. T en, too, the fact that the sound collecting device or microphone of my invention may be moved to follow a source of sound such as a moving source, is very beneficial in reducing side noises and echoes and enables a balance between the various sounds reproduced which is practically impossible to acquire otherwise. Also, with my novel recording system, the background noise in a given setting may be faded in or out at will while the principal action is followed with the movable microphone and brought in at any volume desired.

Another important advantage of my invention is that it eliminates the care now necessary in the conventional recording system in placing microphones very close to the source of sound but leaves greater freedom to the actor in a given play or setting both as to movement and voice action.

Figure 1 is a side elevation partly in section of a sound receiving device or microphone equipped with a universal mounting and embodying the features of my present invention.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on the line IIII of Figure 1 looking downwardly.

Figure 3 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the use of my universally movable microphone in connection with a typical stage setting.

The apparatus chosen to illustrate an embodiment-of this invention includes a microphone designated generally by the reference microphones D may be hidden behind a palm,

another might be disposed in the drapery, a third might be hid behind an article of furniture, and a fourth might be suspended above the stage in a position high enough to be out of the range of the camera. These microphones D in accordance with the features of my invention are arranged so as to have a relatively low rate of sensitivity to the sound production on the stage C. They may be suitably connected to the electrical control circuit for the reproducing system in a manner well known to those versed in the art.

Also connected to this control circuit is my novel microphone A which is located in front of the stage C and is arranged to be moved to follow the source of sound emanating from the production on the stage in much the same manner as an auditor listening to a play in a theater turns his head to follow the action of the play in order to direct his attention and hearing to the points of most interest.

Since it is the center seats in a theater which are the most desirable for seeing and hearing the production on the stage, I find it advisable to dispose the microphone A in a position substantially in line with the center of the stage. This enables the sound emanating from the stage to be picked up at a point where they sound the best to an auditor, and as a result, the reproduction of the same closely simulates the original sound. Then, too, with this arrangement of the microphone A, it is possible to move the microphone so as to follow a moving source of sound on the stage C for the purpose of minimizing the fading in and out of an actors voice or the like in a given reproduction. This results in the sound reproduction being more natural and even than is possible by the present type of. sound reproducing system used in connection with talking movies and the like.

The megaphone B, together with the universal mounting for the microphone A, which will be described more in detail hereinafter,

makes it possible for an operator to follow I any action on the stage C at a considerable distance from the stage and pick up the desired sounds so that they predominate over other sounds which are a necessary accompaniment but which would otherwise interfere with the understanding of the production. By the use of several conventional microphones D covering the setting onthe stage C and arranged so as to have a relatively low rate of sensitivity and used in connection with a movable microphone A embodying the features of my invention, it is possible to obtain any degree of balance between the various sounds being reproduced necessary to re cord the action in a natural manner. With this arrangement, the background noise may be faded in or out of the reproduction at will while the principal action is followed With the directional microphone A and brought in at any volume desired. The directional effect of the microphone A is very beneficial in reducing side noises and echoes and gives a balance between the various sounds being recorded which is practically impossible to acquire with the conventional sound recording system.

The microphone A of my invention, as well as the conventional microphones D, may be connected through standard circuits to the conventional central control panel where each of the microphones may be separately controlled by an operator in a manner well known to those versed in the art. Then, too, the use of my invention eliminates the care necessary in placing microphones very close to the source of sound and hence leaves greater freedom to the actors in a play both as to movement and speech.

' cludes a central member 4 arranged to be operated on'by the diaphragm so as to change the electro-static capacity of the microphone unit in a manner well known to those versed in this art. Since the mechanism of the microphone unit does not per se constitute part of my present invention, it will, of course, be

evident that any suitable microphone unit may be used in the extension of the casing 2. The member 4 is connected to an electric wire 5 extending into the interior of the casing 2 where it is connected to the circuit of a conventional amplifier (not shown).

A supportingrod or pedestal 6 having a counterbore 7 is designed to support the microphone A in any desired position. A yoke 8 having spaced members 9 is connected to the microphone casing 2 by pivot bolts 10 so that the microphone may swing about a horizontal axis in the yoke 8.

The yoke 8 includes a shaft 11 which is disposed withinthe counterbore 7 in the pedestal 6 and is arranged for rotation in the same. The lower end of the shaft 11 is provided with an annular groove 12 for cooperation with pins 13. The pins pass through suitably disposed apertures in the upper end of the pedestal 6 and extend through the groove 12 of the shaft 11 for allowing rotation of the yoke upon the pedestal and at the same time looking the same against accidental displacement.

A ball bearing ring 14 surrounds the shaft 11 and is disposed between the junction of the members 9 and the upper end of the pedestal 6. This anti-frictional element 14 enables'the microphone A to be noiselessly rotated about the axis of the pedestal 6.

A wire 15 leads from the amplifier circuit within the casing 2 to the recording unit. This wire or cable 15 is supported on the pedestal by means of a clip 16. A handle 17 is secured to the casing 2 in such a manner as to be readily grasped by an operator so that he may swing the microphone A and its attached megaphone B in any direction whatsoever since the microphone A hasuniversal mounting on the pedestal 6.

I am aware that numerous details of construction may be varied through a wide range without departing from the principles of this invention, and I therefore do not purpose limiting the patent granted, otherwise than necessitated by the prior art.

I claim as my invention.

1. The method of recording sound with sound collecting devices-from a given setting which consists in collecting said sound with certain of said devices arranged about said setting in such a manner as to have relatively low sensitivity to the source of sound, supplementing the sound collected by said devices with that of another sound collecting device arranged to be highly sensitive to the sounds from said source which are to dominate the resultant reproduction and combining the sounds collected by all of said devices into a reproducible form.

2. The method of recording sound with sound collecting devices from a given setting which consists in collecting said sound with certain of said devices arranged about said setting in such a manner as to have relatively low sensitivity to the. source of sound, supplementing the sound collected by said devices with that of another sound collecting device arranged to be highly sensitive to the sounds from said source which are to dominate the resultant reproduction, moving said latter device so as to cause it to follow the sounds emanating from said source which are to be emphasized and combining the sounds collected by all of said devices into a reproducible form.

3. The method of recording sound with sound collecting devices from a given setting which consists in collecting the sound by certain of said devices fixedly arranged about the setting so as to cause them to have relatively low sensitivity to the source of sound, contemporaneously supplementing the reproduction of said devices with that of another device and selectively universally moving said latter device so as to cause it to at all times follow and be highly sensitive to the sounds from said source which are to dominate the resultant reproduction and combining the sounds collected by all of said devices into a reproducible form.

, 4. The method of collecting sound for reproduction from a given setting with a sound collectin device which consists in positioning said device in a dominating position relative to the setting and selectively moving said device so as to cause it to at all times follow and be highly sensitive to the sounds from said source which are to dominate the resultant reproduction.

5. The method of collecting sound for reproduction from a given setting with a sound collecting device which consists in locating said device in such a position relative to the setting as to enable it to follow the dominating sounds emanating therefrom and selectively and universally moving said device so as to at all times maintain it facing the direction of the sounds emanating from said setting which are to be emphasized in the reproduction.

6. The combination with a sound reproducing system including one or more sound collecting devices arranged so as to have relatively low sensitivity to the source of sound to be reproduced, of a sound collecting device selectively movable into various positions for contemporaneously supplementing said other devices in such manner as to collect and to be highly sensitive to sounds from said source which are to constitute the dominating sounds of the reproduction and to which particular emphasis is to be given.

7. The combination with a sound-reproducing system including one or more sound collecting devices fixedly arranged so as to have relatively low sensitivity to the source of sound to be reproduced, of a sound collecting device for contemporaneously supplementing said other devices and selectively and universally movable into various positions for enabling it to collect and to be high-- 1y sensitive to sounds from said source which are to constitute the dominating sounds of the reproduction and to which particular emphasis is to be given. F

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name at Chicago, Cook County,

Illinois. ORLANDO R. MARSH. 

